Axed care home’s new lease of life

THE doors of Limecroft Care Home could soon swing open again if Oldham Council can agree on the best way forward.

A new report outlining three different cost and benefits options to resurrect the 20-bed residential care unit will be discussed at a meeting of the council’s Cabinet on Monday, June 6.

Limecroft, in Whitebank Road, Limeside, provided respite care and short-stay provision for older people until it closed on March 31 due to council budget cuts under the previous administration.

Its 12-bed provision for severe dementia sufferers was transferred to the remaining council-run Medlock Court in Lees. A day service for those with dementia was relocated to High Barn, Royton.

Additional respite and short-stay beds were purchased from the private sector but these have proved difficult to book in advance to coincide with family holidays and other time-specific requirements for respite care.

Cabinet members will choose between three short and medium-term options to:

::Re-open Limecroft using the previous operating model.

::Enter into a new partnership with a local authority “arms-length” trust to run the home.

::Seek a new partnership with an independent care provider.

Councillor Phil Harrison said: “It is important we make quick progress on this matter. This is a facility that was given a three-star rating and classed as ‘excellent’ in its last inspection by the Quality Care Commission and we are keen to revive it.

“As well as agreeing a solution for the short and medium terms, Cabinet will also consider what the longer-term options are for a refurbishment or even a complete rebuild.

“Limecroft was hugely-respected by the patients, families and carers who used it. We are keen to restore its role at the heart of adult social care provision for vulnerable residents.”